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After Disrupting Shaving Industry, Harry's Is Absorbed by It

Harry's, the upstart shaving company, is being acquired by the owner of Schick razors for $1.37 billion.

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Harry's, the upstart shaving company, is being acquired by the owner of Schick razors for $1.37 billion.

Harry's has bedeviled brands like Schick and Gillette for years using innovative subscription plans and sleek packaging.

Under the agreement announced Thursday, investors in Harry's Inc. will take a stake of about 11 percent of Edgewell Personal Care Co., which manages Schick and other brands. Edgewell gets the Harry's brand and access to the company's prized direct-to-consumer marketing base.

The Harry's brand steps on to a much larger stage, a global one, and will be marketed through Edgewell's enormous distribution channels.

The company has a footprint in 50 markets. Outside of the U.S., Edgewell has operations in Canada, Mexico, Germany, Japan and Australia.

Edgewell also owns the brands Banana Boat and Hawaiian Tropic and Wet Ones wipes.

Harry's, based in New York, has captured about 2 percent of the $2.8 billion men's shaving industry since its founding in 2013, according to Euromonitor market research firm.

Harry's founders, Andy Katz-Mayfield and Jeff Raider, will become co-presidents of Edgewell's U.S. operations when the deal closes, probably in early 2020.

About 79% of the deal is cash, and the remainder stock.